Chapter Seven

Xander and Anya were sitting on opposite sides of the couch with their feet curled up under them. He took a glance at his fiancée and saw how in depth she was with one of Giles's books. "You are so beautiful."

Anya's gaze remained on the pages in front of her.

"Ahn?" Xander shut his book, having his index finger hold the page, and he pulled down her book, revealing a decorating magazine. "Anya!"

"I'm sorry, but this is hopeless. These guys aren't thousand year old demons or any other thing you'd find in these ratty old books. Why must we keep looking for them where they won't be found?"

"Because Giles asked us to." Xander returned to his spot against the right arm of the couch. "And we always do what Giles says."

Giles walked into the house with Tara close behind. "Have you found anything?"

"Nilch, notta and zero G-man," Xander answered.

"What exactly are we looking for?" Anya asked.

"What?" Giles questioned.

"What are we looking for? These are supposedly three extremely annoying and unappealing humans. Do your books have any chapters on those because all I've found are demons. Some old rivals more precisely. Claya is in here and I was in the vengeance gig at least a hundred and fifty years before, maybe two hundred. But is my name written in these squalid deteriorated things you call reliable sources?"

"Honey, we're not looking for your mug shot."

"It's like all the things I did as a vengeance demon never happened. No one will know of the men I've cursed or even that I existed."

"Some people can be so self involved," her fiancée joked.

Tara walked in with a bag labeled Dunkin' Donuts and Giles revealed the four coffees he had with the same label.

"Refreshments," Xander said with a smile.

"Where's Willow?" Tara asked, placing the bag on the table.

"She's clamoring away in the kitchen on that laptop of hers. The tapping is quite annoying," Anya said as she shuffled through the donut bag.

"I can hear you," Willow called from the kitchen.

"And Buffy?" Giles asked.

"Still wallowing in her room probably. Ooo, cinnamon." Anya pulled out the tasty sweet desert and took a bite.

Giles followed Tara into the kitchen. Tara handed Willow a coffee and got a kiss as payment. "Find anything sweetie?" She brushed her fingers through Willow's hair.

"Nothing. These three have done a lot of work keeping themselves on the down low."

"How's Buffy?" Giles asked with concern.

Willow looked up at him as she spoke. "She's okay. Not sunshine and rainbows but okay."

"Well she does have a tough decision to make. She needs to decide whether to be with Angel again and he's hurt her badly so I'm sure it isn't easy." Tara made this statement purely based on the information she was supplied about Buffy's heartbreaking relationship with the soulful vampire.

Willow and Giles quickly glanced at each other, knowing only they had the whole story of Buffy's debacle.

"Would it be all right to see her?" Giles had no idea how much grace period she needed for this sort of situation.

"I don't see why not. Well, I do, but I'm sure she wouldn't mind," Willow said with her usual optimistic tone.

Giles nodded and left the two of them alone. He made his way up the stairs, not sluggishly but not in a hurry either. On the way up he was thinking of what he could say or do for her. Maybe she didn't want him to say or do anything. Then again maybe captain subtext might suggest otherwise.

Giles lightly knocked on her door. "Buffy?"

"I'm out here."

"On your roof?" Giles asked, hurrying to the window. He looked out and noticed she was lying against the side. "Oh."

"How's the hunt going?"

"Slowly," he replied. He took a seat on her windowsill with his body facing her.

"Wow, not even sugar coated," she stated.

"We will find them Buffy."

"I know." She kept her eyes on the sky. The sun was lowering, leaving about an hour or so until it was officially set.

Giles removed his glasses and rubbed the brim of his nose. "I wish I could help you."

"I know."

"I have an inkling as to what I can do but there was no fudge mint chip at the grocery store," he quipped.

Buffy turned to Giles with a grin on her face. "My goodness Giles, was that a joke?"

"I've been known to be quite funny at times," he informed her. They both chuckled.

Buffy's eyes remained on her watcher for another second and then returned to the crimson and ginger sky before her. She sighed as she rolled her head to her left knee. "Did you happen to bring over a book to help me with this most cliché of problems?"

"I don't think a book on this exists."

"There should be. Vampire Relationships for Dummies," Buffy suggested. "Feng Shui Your Crosses and Holy Water."

Giles remained in silence, unsure of whether or not to ask his question. Finally he decided he would and if she didn't want to answer then he wouldn't force it upon her. "Are you trying to decide whether you should be with Angel or whether you should be with Spike?"

Buffy fidgeted with her fingers for a moment. What was she trying to decide? She's been worrying all this time about an answer when she didn't even know the question. Did she want to be with Spike? Could she be with Angel?

"Oh, sorry," Dawn said. She was now wearing dark bellbottom jeans and a light green shirt. "I thought Buffy was in here."

"She's on the roof," Giles answered, returning his glasses to his nose. "I'll go downstairs and help with research. And to make sure Anya didn't eat my scone."

Dawn scooted in the room so he could easily pass her. She walked over to the window and stuck one of her legs out on the roof.

"No!" Buffy intervened.

"Are you kidding me?" she asked, keeping her leg outside and giving her sister the annoyed look.

"You stay inside."

Dawn sighed and pulled her left leg back in. She grabbed a pillow from the bed and placed it on the sill before she sat down. "So how's your decision between the not so gruesome twosome going?"

"Dead end."

After a couple seconds Dawn started chuckling, catching the joke that Buffy didn't realize she made. Buffy looked at her with confusion. She slowly faded out of her laugh and ended with a cough. "Do you need any help?"

Buffy gave her an are-you-kidding-me look. "From the girl who can't even decide which backpack to wear?"

"Hey, fashion includes accessories and when you're in high school backpacks are an accessory."

"You only have two."

"Which I've been meaning to talk to you about by the way."

"I'm sure you have." Buffy smiled. This was good, her typical sisterly arguments, like it was just another day. However it wasn't. She was facing a decision she never had to face before. There was always only one guy and she had to decide yes or no. She never had to decide between two guys.

"There isn't anything I can do for you is there?" Dawn asked, facing reality.

"Not this time."

Dawn stood from her pillow and placed it back on Buffy's bed. "Then I'll go dive into Sherlock Holmes mode."

"Hey Dawn?" Her ehad popped out the window in response. "Thank you."

Dawn grimaced. "You're welcome." She pushed herself back inside and left Buffy's room.

Half the sun was hiding behind the mountaintops. Time to slay. Buffy walked with ease across the roof and climbed through her window. She grabbed the essentials: two stakes from her chest and her leather jacket. As she slipped on her coat Buffy noticed her stuffed pig staring out into her room. "I'm sorry Mr. Gordo." She picked him up and placed him back on her bedside chair

Buffy secured her hair into a ponytail and examined herself in the mirror. Her eye was captured by the light glistening off one of her necklaces. It was the cross Angel gave her. She let the symbol rest against her palm. The gleaming necklace was unchanged from the day she received it; the day their relationship began.

Downstairs every room was occupied with a body. Dawn was in the dining room hovering over newspapers, Xander and Anya remained on the couch, Giles was at the desk in the side room and Tara and Willow were in the kitchen.

Buffy came down the stairs and went straight to the sound of Willow's laptop. "I'm going on patrol."

Willow and Tara turned their attention to her. "You don't have to. I'm sure Giles or someone can do it for you."

"Willow, I'm perfectly capable to slay a few vamps."

"But what if you run into…" Willow trailed off.

"If I do then I'll deal. I'll be back later." Buffy walked through to the dining room. She walked over to Dawn and peered over her shoulder. "Havin' fun?"

"Tons." Dawn put the paper down and faced her sister. "Goin' on patrol?"

"Yup."

"Gonna kill some vampires?"

"Yup."

"Gonna let your sister come?"

"Nope."

Dawn rolled her eyes and sighed. "Gonna leave her here to drown in newspaper articles?"

"Yup." Buffy kissed her on the head. "I love you." She exited the house and headed straight for the graveyards.

There was a knock on the door. Xander awoke from his half-awake half-asleep state and said, "I got it." In the dining room Dawn was passed out over the articles and in the living room Anya was curled up, holding the book tightly. Xander opened the door, not suspecting the sight before him. "Spike," he said with contempt. "I've got a sarcastic laugh with your name on it."

"I need to talk to Buffy."

"And I need you to not be in Sunnydale. We all have disappointments."

"Just tell me if she's here."

"If she's here," Xander said, being a smart-ass.

Spike shook his head and left.

"Feel free to never come back." Xander shut the door and sat back in his spot on the sofa. He yawned before closing his eyes.

In the kitchen Giles was leaning over his cup of tea and glancing at a book. Willow was skimming through more things on the internet as Tara finished pouring her tea. "I'm gonna go put Dawn to bed," she said as she placed the pot back on the stove.

"Are you going to bed too sweetie?" Willow asked.

"No, I'll be back down." Tara kissed her on the cheek and went in the dining room.

"I don't even know what I'm looking for?" Giles said. "Anya's right. We're looking through old texts where we won't be able to find anything." He shut the book and leaned over the island.

"You're just tired. I'm sure after a few hours of sleep you'll- I got it!" Willow yelled.

Giles's head shot up. He hustled over to the computer and stared at the bright screen. "What did you do?"

"Before I tried to look up their addresses and I couldn't find anything. But I tapped into the government's database and finally did some in depth snooping. And here it is." Willow pointed to the printed words before them. "It's an address to one of their houses. I mean, they aren't guaranteed to be there but it's a start."

"Well done Willow," Giles said, giving her a pat on the back.

The sky was completely enveloped in darkness when Buffy stepped onto the grass of the cemetery. She had one stake in her hand, ready to strike. She turned her head from side to side, waiting for sudden movements or moving shadows. As she passed a gravestone a man's hand burst through the ground. Buffy grabbed it and brought him halfway out before she rammed the stake in his chest. He turned to ashes.

Buffy crossed onto the gravel path and continued down it. She ended up pausing when she spotted a familiar face. She walked towards him as he pursued her as well. "Hey," she greeted.

"Hey."

They stood face to face, at first in silence.

"What're you up to?" Buffy asked.

"I knew you'd be out here. I also figured I'd get in a few slays." They looked at the necklace hanging around her neck. Buffy took notice and put her hand over it. "Is that-"

"The necklace you gave me when we first met," Buffy finished.

Seeing it made Angel content. After all these years, all their hardships, she kept it. She wasn't wearing their Cladagh ring but, then again, neither was he. He still had it though. "The cross. A symbol of protection in the world of Slayers."

"And ironically a symbol of death. But that's not just the world of the Slayer." Buffy lifted it from her collarbone and tried to look at it.

"I like the thought of protection more. Reminds me of our relationship."

"This was the beginning of our relationship."

Angel fidgeted his hands in his pockets. "Is there a reason you're wearing it?"

"Always good to have a cross. In the world of the Slayer."

Angel strayed from the subject. He didn't want to possibly hear something he wasn't prepared to know. Like the fact she couldn't be with him. Or wanted to be with him. "How was your day?"

"We don't have to do this."

"What?"

"The uncomfortable conversation."

"But it's the only way to stay away from your decision. Assuming you made one."

"You're right. Let's stay away from the subject."

Spike came strutting through the trees. He was trying to find Buffy and already found she wasn't in his graveyard. He would've thought it was because she didn't want to see him if he allowed himself to think. He just brushed it off and made it to a second graveyard.

Spike swerved through a couple more trees and stopped. There she was. She was talking to Angel. They were both laughing. She was happy and it wasn't with him.

Spike watched them for a few more seconds. His jaw tightened and his eyes were about to water. Finally, Spike turned and left, accepting defeat.